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GCN Home > 04/28/03 issue

Incoming

Worldwide network. The Defense Department next year will start integrating a common set of information services over a global information system with an enterprise architecture. The department’s goal is to link military networks around the world to speed information to warfighters and decision-makers.

The Global Information Grid, scheduled for completion later this decade, will rely on an architecture called the Net-Centric Enterprise Service.

Science Applications International Corp. last month received a $50 million, five-year contract from the Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to plan and develop the grid.

Some elements of the NCES architecture will be leased: communications, computing systems and services, software and security services, said Linda Kjonnerod, a program analyst for DOD technology. She said she expects work for the initiative to be done mostly by contractors, similar to the Navy’s strategy in setting up the Navy-Marine Corps Intranet.

“This is the infrastructure that is needed for intranet-centric types of activities,” said Kjonnerod, who spoke recently about NCES during the Federal Outlook conference sponsored by Federal Sources Inc. of McLean, Va.

Kjonnerod said DOD is pushing for early approval from congressional leaders to begin work on the initiative later this year.

Defense CIO John Stenbit said NCES would offer a common set of information capabilities over the grid to access, collect, process, store, disseminate and manage information. Warfighters, policy-makers and support personnel will use it.

“Decision cycles will be shortened by providing near-real-time connectivity and computing power to get the right information, at the right time, in the right format to meet operational, tactical and mission support needs,” Stenbit said.

Fast track. Defense has hired a vendor to build a ruggedized portable system that warfighters would use to quickly extract data from enemy forces’ captured computers.

Ideal Technology Corp. of Orlando, Fla., this month won a DOD Small Business Innovation Research Phase I contract. The first phase is worth $65,000 for six months of work. If DOD picks up the second phase, the contract could grow to $750,000, officials said.